Celebrate Intimate Weddings

with Relationship Speaker/Author/Coach... Larry James

A Chocolate Lover's Wedding

Larry James

An edited version of "A Chocolate Lover's Wedding" by Larry James is featured
in the November/December 2008 issue of The Wedding Chronicle. Pick
up your copy at AJ's Fine Foods in the Greater Phoenix area and Tucson.

Larry James is a contributing author to The Wedding Chronicle. Watch for a new article in each issue.

Since 2002 I have been performing "romantic" wedding ceremonies. Recently while interviewing a couple they told me that they both had a passion for
chocolate and instead of adding the Unity Candle or the Blending of the Sands ceremony to their ceremony they wanted me to come up with a way to
have chocolate be a part of the ceremony.

I suggested that their invitations, their guest book and pen set, the ring pillow and the flower girl baskets be a light shade of brown.
The guest pen wrote with brown ink.

Toward the end of their wedding ceremony I had the bride and groom profess their love for each other by offering each other a taste of
their favorite chocolate truffles.

Two hand-made Romànicos chocolate truffles were presented by the mothers to the bride and groom and were wrapped in a tiny box with
special paper with the word "Love" all over it. I called this part of the ceremony "Chocolate Unity." They each took a bite from one truffle
and the remaining truffle was put back into the box to be enjoyed on their first anniversary.

"Chocolate Unity" was a simple addition to the regular wedding ceremony and was a fun idea of how couples can customize a ceremony with
fresh words to make it memorable. The guests loved the brief ceremony and each guest was given a chocolate truffle to share with their
partner as they left for the reception.

The colors at the reception were a milk chocolate brown. Ceremonial chocolate kisses were scattered over each table. A white chocolate
dove on a nest of dark chocolate twigs was the centerpiece at each table. The children were served an iced chocolate drink with
chocolate chip cookies.

There was a ice cream sundae bar with vanilla and chocolate ice cream and bowls set out with different things for the guests could add to
their sundaes; chocolate sauce, sprinkles, nuts, cherries, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and much more.

The adults offered a special toast to the bride and groom with their choice of a Godiva Chocolate Liqueur or a shot of Vincent Van Gogh
Chocolate Vodka.

Perhaps one of the most dramatic chocolate wedding "favors" was the chocolate fountain. Holding court at the end of a table with a
chocolate-colored table clothe, this aromatic structure invited the guests to grab a fork and dip an array of chocolate-friendly treats, fondue style.

A 4-tiered chocolate cake was served with some of it ending up on the bride and grooms faces as they each took a bite. The wedding cake
topper featured a chocolate statue of the bride and groom in an embrace.

A beautifully wrapped box of Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolates was presented by the bride and groom to the parents at the reception.

The creativity expressed during the ceremony and the reception was a terrific way for the bride and groom to demonstrate their love of
chocolate and their love for each other in very unique ways. It also illustrates the ways - that with a little imagination - wedding ceremonies can be customized.
It was definitely a wedding and reception their guests will not soon forget.

After the wedding another couple told me of a wedding they attended that also used chocolate. The groom was in the Navy and they were
married on a boat in front of the Statue of Liberty. They wrote a love note to each other, put it in a chocolate bottle and tossed it into the water.

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Honeymoon at The Chocolate Boutique Hotel in Bournemouth, England,
the only chocolate themed hotel in the world! The boutique hotel has 13 unique chocolate themed bedrooms which provide accommodation for up to
25 people ensuring a great night's sleep.

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Larry's Review: Cal Orey's book, "The Healing Powers Of Chocolate" blends my two favorite things. . . chocolate and romance
(not necessarily in that order). This book will rev up your romance and titillate your sensibilities. Treat yourself and your
partner to all the truth about chocolate that's fit to print!